I didn’t initially report this as news since we all saw this coming, but Marvel and the people at Activision are treating this as big reveals, so why not. In case you aren’t following the progress of the amazing Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, we have two confirmed characters coming out of the wake of E3. We all pretty much knew they were going to be a part of the game, but this confirms heavy Thunderbolts involvement and a possibility of Bullseye being an unlockable character who appears in a brief cutscene during the trailer (as well as Penance and Swordsman). So without further ado, I present to you the new M:UA2 characters, Venom and Green Goblin.
Venom
First off, we have Venom. Venom appeared as a character in the first game whom you could download or buy with the Platinum edition. Returning here, we can see that the main model is based off the new Venom, Mac Gargan. Venom’s moves will mainly involve using his tentacles to do devastating attacks upon enemies, and perhaps even feeding on them. Everything is possible with this version of Venom. I will admit that part of me is disappointed in it, if only because I’ve never liked Mac Gargan as Venom. This is one of the few things that Mark Millar has done which I have absolutely hated. I think the design of the character has always been ugly, and Mac Gargan makes a poor substitute for Eddie Brock. That being said, the model in the game looks fantastic. It’s really well rendered and looks to actually mix in elements of the Spider-Man 3 Venom costume in order to more closely mirror Spider-Man’s. While this is a character I probably will not use that much without the old costume, the people behind M:UA2 did a great job rendering him.
Check out this video trailer of Venom:
Not bad at all. Venom looks to be pretty powerful, and from what I remember of the demo at E3 he has some pretty awesome moves. As we all know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so while I don’t like Mac, I’m sure there is someone out there who does, and this character will be right up their alley. Venom makes a good addition to the roster regardless, and helps bring the Thunderbolts into gameplay.
Green Goblin
Next we have Green Goblin. This is an interesting pick. Those who read the side books to Civil War will remember how and why Norman was released from prison and how little it had to do with the overall Civil War until issue 5 (if I remember correctly). Having him in full Goblin garb is an interesting choice as well. The people at M:UA2 clearly aren’t going for 100% continuity but rather a majority form of continuity, which is surprisingly still ok in my book. You get to ride the glider and rain death all around you, so while I can’t see myself playing the Goblin a lot, I imagine it could make for some interesting fusion attacks. One thing I wonder about the Goblin is if he will be able to play on both sides. Supposedly, only 4 characters are locked either way, but Green Goblin should only be on Iron Man’s side because that’s how he got out of jail in the first place. If it weren’t for the registration act, Norman would still be rotting in some cell somewhere. Most likely this will be glazed over by the game in order to increase the amount that you just play with characters you like, but still. It’s an interesting question to pose in my book.
I gotta admit, the Green Goblin model without his glider is kind of goofy. Maybe that was just a bad screen cap I grabbed off the official Marvel Ultimate Alliance site, but he’s very awkward looking. Out of the four characters I’ve blogged about, he is easily the worst looking so far. Is that then subtly appropriate? I mean, he is a goblin after all. It’s not like he should be dashing. I just hope that he doesn’t run while in a squatting position. It’s one thing to be a creepy monster hunched over like Venom, but the Goblin is just a man in a suit. There’s no reason to be permananetly posed as if you’re on the glider. It’s a minor complaint, but when I’ve been going around praising the characters for so long, it’s sad to see a character looking like that for an official presentation.
And with that we have 5 more to go! Who’s next? Who do you want to see in the game? I’ve already thrown some money on Hercules, but anything’s possible. Despite him appearing in a cutscene, it’s a high probability that he won’t be playable due to his involvement in cinematics. This was the case with Multiple Man. He is standing on Captain America’s side during the trailer, but we know for a fact that he is not in the game as a playable character due to my asking. Does this mean the same for Hercules? Most likely. It stands to reason, then, that any character we see in a cut scene will end up unplayable. So who is left? Nick Fury? He’s in the game at the beginning, but as an NPC. Other members of the X-Men? Or possibly the New Avengers? Spider-Woman, Ronin? We’ll see.
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Matthew Meylikhov
Once upon a time, Matthew Meylikhov became the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Multiversity Comics, where he was known for his beard and fondness for cats. Then he became only one of those things.
Now, if you listen really carefully at night, you may still hear from whispers on the wind a faint voice saying, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not as bad as everyone says it issss."
